Hammock.



No. 667,228. Patented Feb. 5, 190|.

' C. KNOERNSCHILD.

HAMMOGK.

l (Application med Jan. 14, 1899.)

(N0 Model.)

m: noms msn ca. nimo-mno.. wnmcnou. o. c.

Nrrnn STATES PAENT FFIC HANI MOCK.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 667,228, dated February 5, 1901.

Application led January 14, 1899. Serial No. 702,150. (No model.)

To a/ZZ whom it may concern.:

Be it known that I, CHARLES KNOERN- SCHILD, of Milwaukee, in the county of Milwaukee and State of Wisconsin, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Hammocks, of which the following is a description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, which are a part of this specification.

Hammocks as now largely constructed consist of a substantially rectangular piece of flexible fabric, usually with Very coarse or open mesh, that forms the body of the hammock, which is suspended by cords extending from its two ends to distant supporting-rings or attaching devices, into which all the cords are grouped, the hammock being usually provided With transverse stretcher-bars at the ends of the body of the hammock, to which bars the suspension-cords are or may be conveniently secured. Such a hammock when slung up in position for taking a person in recumbent position droops somewhat toward and at the center, but is not very hollow or dishing either longitudinally or transversely.

It is sometimes desirable to use a hammock for sitting in it, the person occupying a position transverse to its longitudinal axis, and it is exceedingly comfortable in such use to have ample support for the back,which is not provided by a hammock constructed and strung up in the usual form. Also it is sometimes desirable, especially when a child is to be put into the hammock, to have the sides of the hammock considerably raised above the central portion to provide a box or cradlelike construction, from which a child cannot readily escape. Such a construction is not found in the hammock as commonly made.

The object of my invention is to provide a hammock having devices or a construction by which these objects are attained or can be secured.

The invention consists of the hammock and related devices, their parts and combinations, as herein described and claimed, or their equivalents.

In the drawings, Figure l illustrates a hammock having myimproved construction. Fig. 2 is a view of the under side of the improved hammock. Fig. 3 is a detail in section illustrating the construction of a special device applied or in use at one edge only of the hammock. Fig. 6 is adiagram illustratinga trans-` verse central section of a suspended hammock having my improved devices, that are applied and in use at both edges of the hammock, causing the hammock-body to droop or become dished considerably centrally.

In the drawings, 10 is the hammock-body. This ham mock-body is constructed of dexible material and is usually in rectangular form and may have the side curtains or Valances l1 depending therefrom, or these Valances maybe omitted, if preferred.

The body 10 of the hammock may be constructed of cloth or of open-mesh knitted, knotted,or Woven materiahas preferred. This body portion of the hammock is provided at its two ends with a plurality of suspensioncords 12 l2, that extend therefrom in the direction of the longitudinal axis of the hammock and are grouped together at their outer ends, being commonly secured to a ring or suspending device 13.

The hammock is commonly and advisably provided with rigid stretcher-bars 14, secured to the ends of the body of the hammock severally, conveniently by being inserted in pockets therefor formed in the body of the hammock and transversely thereof, whereby the hammock is stretched or spread out laterally at the ends and correspondingly throughout its length when suspended. A hammock thus constructed being strung up or suspended in position for use assumes a comparatively flat position throughout its length. In this form it is adapted to receive thereon a person in recumbent position, and under the weight of the person the body of the hammock will yield somewhat and will assume a slightly-dishing form. It is, however, sometimes desirable to cause the body of the hammock to be raised temporarily at and along one edge, leaving the other edge in normal condition, so that if IOO one or more persons sit in the hammock the raised edge and adjacent parts of the ham` mock will form a back for the seat thus formed by the hammock, and also it is at other times desirable to have both longitudinal edges of the hammock shortened, and thereby raised, so that the central portion will droop considerably below the edges, forming a deeply-dishing or cradle-like construction adapted to securely retain a child or person therein against accidentally falling therefrom. For this purpose I provide means attached to the hammock for temporarily shortening one or bot-h longitudinal edges of the hammock, so that when these devices are put to use by the user of the hammock the central portion of the hammock or the central portion and the unshortened edge will droop below the temporarily-shortened and thereby raised edge or edges of the hammock.

A form of my improvement is shown in Figs. 2 and 3 of the drawings and consists of a hook 15 and an eye 16, secured to the body of the hammock near one edge thereof, the hook being at such distance from the eye that when they are brought together and made to engage each other the intermediate portion of the hammock edge will be full and in such excess as to fold over upon itself, as indicated in Fig. 3 at 17 17, or, in other words, the attachment of the hook and the eye to the margin of the hammock are respectively at such distances apart that when they are brought together and made to engage each other the entire length of the margin of the hammock from one stretcher-bar to the other is considerably shortened, so far as stretching it out is concerned, whereby that edge of the hammock being brought more nearly into the horizontal plane of the points of suspension of the hammock by the devices 13 13 is raised above the other portions of the hammock, that are permitted to droop to some extent. It is desirable to have these shortening devices at a plurality of localities in the margin of the body of the hammock, as at A and. B of Fig. 2, and these localities for these shortening devices are preferably near the longitudinal ends of the hammock-body adjacent to the stretcher-bars 14 rather than centrally of the length of the hammock-body. Similar devices are also provided for the other edge of the hammock, and these are preferably 1ocated at corresponding opposite localities A B', near the opposite edge of the hammock. The exact location of these shortening devices with reference to the length of the hammock is not essential to their value; but the localities indicated are deemed lthe most desirable. The means shown as embodying a suitable shortening device, consisting of the hook 15 and the eye 16, are not to be considered specifically as the sole embodiment of my invention, as other devices of a similar character well known for bringing together distant or separated parts of clothing or articles in general use and securing them to each other, such as buttons with buttonholes or loops and studs with eyelets or even lacing-strings, should be deemed as the equivalents of these devices.

In use a hammock that being normally strung up would hang suspended centrally in the position indicated in Fig. 4 could be made to assume the position indicated in Fig. 5, adapted to be used as a seat, by connecting up the shortening devices on one margin of the hammock, as those at A and B, and the hammock could be made to assume the cradlelike form indicated in Fig. 6 by connecting up the shortening devices on both margins of the hammock, as those at A and B and also those at A and B'. These shortening devices being preferably attached to the body of the hammock on the under side are not objectionable either to the sight or as inconvenient when not in-use, and when they are put in use the surplus intermediate portion of the margin and Valances of the hammock so fold over on themselves in the mannerillnstrated in Fig. 1 as not to be objectionable.

Vhat I claim as my invention is- 1. The combination with the flexible body lof a ham mock, of a temporary shortening device consisting of complementary coupleable members secured at a distance apart to the hammock on the under side near one longitudinal edge thereof adapted to be temporarily pnt in engagement detachably each with the other to temporarily shorten the length of that side of the hammock to which the device is attached and to cause non-shortened portions of the hammock to droop below the shortened margin thereof.

2. The combination with the exible body of a hammock, of a plurality of ancillary shortening devices affixed to the hammock in sets one near each end thereof each device consisting of complementary coupleable niembers secured at a distance apart to the hammock on the under side near the same longitudinal edge thereof adapted to be temporarily put in engagement. detachably with each other to temporarily shorten the length of that side of the hammock to which the device is attached and to cause the hammock other than the shortened margin thereof to droop medially between the sets of devices below the shortened margin.

In testimony whereof I ax my signature in presence of two witnesses.

CHARLES KNOERNSCHILD.

Witnesses:

C. T. BENEDIcT, ANNA V. FAUST.

IOO 

